Preconception Matters:

I sat in the room holding back tears… “If I would’ve only known.”

I started diving deep into the field of neurodevelopment after my daughter was born. I remember sitting in a conference dedicated to those suffering with autism and other special needs, when the speaker took a deep dive into the association between prenatal maternal health and developmental disabilities. 

Autoimmunity, toxin exposure, gut health, inflammation, infection, medications, vaccinations, radiation, nutrient deficiencies, food allergies, eczema, periodontal disease, anxiety- all connected in various ways to neuroinflammation and poorer outcomes in a number of neurodevelopmental measures. 

This information hit me like a rock in my stomach. Of course I knew that in that in theory some of these associations were true- why geeze- I’m a Naturopathic doctor, but I had never seen so much literature and science backing these claims until this point in time.

“If I would’ve only known”- I said to my husband. It was at this point that I made it my mission to help women understand the importance of preconception and the impact this can have on the health of our future generation.

WHY Your Health Matters:

HORMONE HEALTH:

A presence of a period signals a rise and fall in. hormones, but not an appropriate balance. In order to get pregnant, the relationship between your hormones and the relative balance is extremely important. You can have a period and still not be ovulation, have low progesterone, have suboptimal thyroid function, have low androgens (male hormones), or have elevated estrogen. Each of these imbalances can impact the chances of achieving viable conception.

GUT HEALTH:

Your child is colonized with YOUR gut microbiome. We know there are many benefits to vaginal birth and breastfeeding, and many of the benefits are around the positive impact these measures have on the development of the baby’s microbiome. Unfortunately, you don’t just pass on your good bugs- your bad ones can be transferred as well!. The gut microbiome drastically impacts their digestive health, immune health, oral health, behavior, skin health, and more!

NUTRIENT STATUS:

Micronutrient deficiency can negatively impact egg quality and hormone balances, decreasing your chances of getting pregnant. Nutrient deficiencies can further disrupt normal fetal development, and the impacts can last throughout the child’s life. Finally, certain deficiencies can increase the mother’s risk of complications, like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, and postpartum depression.

TOXINS:

Numerous toxins in our environment are known teratogens- meaning that they damage the normal development of the fetus. We know that mom’s transfer a large amount of their own toxic burden to their child in utero and during breastfeeding. In fact, one study showed that 80% of toxins within mom were transferred to the baby in utero, and numerous studies show that maternal toxin levels fall with breastfeeding.

Exposure to toxins in this day and age is ubiquitous. It is not “if” you have been exposed- it’s “how much,” and how efficient is your body with detoxification.

INFLAMMATION/ IMMUNE:

Prenatal inflammation is at the crux of many neurodevelopmental disorders, like Autism and ADHD. Inflammation from autoimmunity, allergies, stress, and eczema have been shown to increase the risk of a neurodvelopmental disorders through epigenetic alternations and antibody attack.

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